I"ve used craft paints in the past, on some of my 1/300th scale aircraft, with excellent results, but am wondering if I can use the same, thinned down, on the really tiny, 1/600th scale, WWII and Modern ones?

Anyone done that with success?

I suspect they'll need to be thinned quite a bit, which may be problematical with some of the less expensive, craft paints on the market.

I just hate to pay almost $4.00 a bottle for such a tiny amount of paint, and for such basic colors. It's criminal how much they charge for just a few ML in a 5 cent, plastic bottle.

The best way to thin craft paints is a bit expensive but since acrylic paint thins with water and the paint is pretty cheap, I'd say experiment. With luck you can get a 2 oz. bottle for .75 US. For white and black, you can get much bigger bottles but you aren't going need much in these scales. The bigger challenge to me is how to prime such small figures without obscuring detail BEFORE applying paint!

And Mako is right, there is no comparison between craft paint cost and 'hobby' paint cost. In US dollars, I can get 2 oz craft paints for 1.39 all the time (and usually cheaper). Last time I bought hobby paint it was about $3.79 a bottle - for 1/4 ounce. That means to get the same volume of hobby paint would cost me $30.32 or over 21 times the cost by volume. The hobby paint is already thin, the craft paint can be easily thinned - and stretched. Also, color options in craft paint seem to go much farther than hobby paints and what you can't buy ready made is easy enough to mix up with a minimal amount of color theory (my theory is very minimal indeed).

Proper artists paints for scenery? I hope you mean the student value tube acrylics or otherwise I have to question the sanity of that choice - or maybe you own an art supply store?!

Actually, I use artist's acrylics for some scenery work (more in model railroading than miniatures but both) but I always buy the cheapest stuff and take good care of it, lasts forever. I use the squeeze tubes and make very sure the lid and threaded part of the tube are clean when done.

Yes, it will work.They work fine for anything.Marketing has been very successful in convincing people they need special paints, but they don't.They don't even have to do much since the customer will generate their own reasons and justifications, as you'll no doubt see see below.

You don't need "miniature sand" either. Or rocks.Flock is...wait for it...flock. $10 a big tub, or $12 for a tiny hockey puck, it's the same.

Stay with the name brand paints, though. The store brand stuff is like any other store brand, similar, but not the same.

How much paint do you think you'll need in that scale and how much do the figures cost that you'll be able to paint with 20$ worth of Vallejo or another "specialised" miniature paints ?

People who claim that it's only marketing should inform themselves better. There are differences, in pigment concentrations, formulation as well as in particle size. These will reflect on the quality of the output and ease of working with them. Try painting your ceiling with craft paints, they are cheaper than specially formulated paints for that purpose...

On the other hand - it's your money and your project. Use what you like best.

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I like my games like my orange juice: pulpy with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners

"So, you don't think cheap paint will work, but think its criminal to charge more for a paint that will work?".

I didn't say that at all, though perhaps you read it as an implied statement. I was posing a question.

I don't know if it will work, but am going to give it a try, since I suspect and hope it might.

Didn't think of trying it on scrap, so thanks for that suggestion. I will definitely do that, since that'll be easier, and less of a concern.

Was thinking about doing it on a mini, but didn't want to bother having to remove it if it doesn't work out.

Yep, $3.50 - $3.79 here for a bottle just slightly over 1/2 ounce.

That's just daft!!!

I've had superb success with some craft paints for my 1/300th scale, Arab-Israeli jets, and my Su-27s. Easier to match colors with them, and the craft paints mixed up nicely too.

I'm just a little concerned about the pigmentation breaking down with some craft paints, if well thinned. There are a couple of manufacturers though, so perhaps one will work better than the other, or both will be fine.

I did use craft paints for my 1/2000th scale ships too, since they had a nice bottle of ochre for hull sides and masts.

$0.79 - $0.99 cents, or just a little more is far better than $4 a bottle, especially when I get 4X the fluid for 1/4th to 1/5th of the price. As cheap as 50 cents a bottle, when it's on sale.

That's a 16X - 20X savings, or more!!!

And, yes, even in 1/600th scale, I've got a lot of aircraft to paint up with some basic colors, along with others too, and, I'm cheap. Rather save the extra money for more miniatures or rules.

I've got others to paint up as well, in 1/300th scale, and 1/144th scale also.

I won't even get started on the tiny Tamiya spraypaint cans for $7.99 a pop. About a third of the size of a normal spray paint can.

Would like some of those too, but suspect buying an airbrush will be far cheaper, and pay for itself in short order with those ridiculous prices too, especially when they seem to not work properly a large portion of the time (AND yes, I know about tipping them upside down to clean the heads after use).

gnomehome, next time you do some house painting, shop around for your paint. Sounds like you are paying $80 to $90 dollars per gallon! That's some serious house paint.

I may have miscalculated (I normally use the metric system), but 16 ounce Apple Barrel White costs 4,47USD which comes to 35,76 USD per gallon. Interior house paint comes somewhere around 40-50 USD per gallon (all prices from Amazon).

Would like some of those too, but suspect buying an airbrush will be far cheaper, and pay for itself in short order with those ridiculous prices too, especially when they seem to not work properly a large portion of the time (AND yes, I know about tipping them upside down to clean the heads after use).

Except that using craft paints through an airbrush will not work, the pigment in it is far too big and just clog your needle and you will have to buy specialised paints and thinners anyway. And those specialised paints paint fine with a brush as well.....

And to FifteensAway - I call craft paint here is what my kids use. 9 out of 10 stuff that reactivates when hit with water, terrible pigmentation etc. You can get better stuff but the prices seem to match the ones you pay in art supply stores and in considerable bigger pots that last through various projects (and I buy the bleeders on sale anyway). So no need for that, ok?

There's frugality, and then there's just being cheap. Your wildly expensive ½ ounce bottle of paint will do hundreds and hundreds of 1/600 scale aircraft, and for the extra money you're getting finer pigment sizes, higher pigment density, reliable colours without the necessity of mixing, and additives to ensure that it thins well without breaking down and won't change colour or just fall off your models over the years.

It's up to you of course, but if I've learned one thing over the years, it's to buy and use the very best tools I can afford for the job at hand. That applies not just to modelling, but to art and craft work in general. It pays off in the long run.